Your Stories, Your Words
Feb 23rd, 2009 by admin
Please join us here to share!
Have you had a wild animal visit you?
Do you feel a special connection to a wild animal?
Has a connection with an animal or nature significantly helped you with your relationships with other people?
Have you had a relationship with an animal companion that you would like to share?
Do you desire change and support?
Are you grieving and in transition after your animal companion passed over?
Personal experiences of inspiration, goofiness, joy, love, healing, feelings, connection or communication or any other relationship- centered story are welcome!
My hope is to provide a safe space for you to share with others and maybe even to MEET others and experience support and healing connection.
Peace, love and joy to you!
I met my beautiful German Shephard,Floreta soon after I met my husband ,almost 13years ago.My brother in law used to raise seeing eye puppies.He used to send them off to seeing eye school and they’d be connected with needy families.One day he got a phone call a year after he’d said goodbye to a particulaly cute pup,named Floreta.The director of the school asked Joe if he’d be interested in taking Floreta back.After recieving a year of the training,she’d flunked one of the battery of blood tests they undergo.It was a minor thing,but enough of a concern that she couldn’t go with a family.Joe said yes.Soon after coming home,Floreta met my husband and bonded with him instantly.At the time John & I were dating and when I met young Floreta..that was it she had my heart(John too of course!)We became a family. We adopted our cat Sophie a cute tabby and the cat & dog bonded.Floreta was the most gentle,sweet natured,intelligent animal.She rarely barked,so did not make a good guard dog..she was all about the love!I’m sure her seeing eye training had something to do with it,but also her gentle soul was in her.She died of cancer 2 years ago.To this day she is very missed.We have a special grave in our garden and in the summer time it’s surrounded by flowers… for Floreta our beautiful dog. As Floreta was dying we recieved the referal for our daughter,Ksenia, who we adopted from Russia.It was a bitter sweet moment.
Floreta died as we were preparing to go to Russia to meet our little girl.I think that Floreta paved the way for our daughter.Maybe her calming spirit will be with us as we bring up our lovely 4 year old.Floreta truly gave us a gift.
Angela,
Thank you so much for sharing about your life with Floreta. What a beautiful and heartfelt story! We often think that we are “choosing” our animal companion when the truth is usually that THEY choose us.
It is funny…I very often use the phrase, “Starr is all about the love” when describing my pup/dog teacher.
It is always so interesting to me the cycle of birth and death and when beings come into and then physically leave our lives.
I am sure that Floreta is still very much present and connected to you and your family.
So glad we have connected, Angela!
The hardwood sticks last the longest.. We picked one up at the big grass at Clark U. one spring eons ago and it lasted for many years, until we left it for a bigger and better stick.
The other day, we walked from my apartment to the lake, and then we found another stick – maple, perfect length, and I threw it – and he ran for it. My dog. Running. Galloping. Again.
And again – I threw it over and over again – at least 4 football fields. Running. Sniffing it out, joyfully bounding through the snow to wild applause and cheers from myself.
It’s not often that I get moments like that – Charlie is old – by common maths he is 14. By Dog maths he’s over 100. But by the important maths – the maths from when I adopted him on April 2, 1998 at the Buddy Animal Humane Society:
600 weekends lazing around
9 vacations specifically to climb tall mountains to the very tippity top together.
1800 trips to the lake where Charlie dutifully swam after sticks and chased geese and mortified ducks of all varieties, and rolled in mud afterwards.
97 million hugs and counting
3 strange men
2 even stranger women
11 Thanksgivings
26 baths after encountering vertically-stripped kitties that Mom calls ’skunks’ in that tone of voice reserved for when he rolls in disgusting things…
11 Christmases, 7 of which have involved travel to Aunt Anne’s in a Car to where Mom isn’t in charge and charlie gets all the food he wants…
11 Birthday parties for Charlie
3 walks per day for 9 years +2 walks per day for 3 years = At least 16,425 walks – plus at least several hundred more ‘just because it’s nice out’ walks. To the park for Jazz night – we go to the bean counter, I get coffee and a cookie, and he gets rawhide and we listen to music at Elm Park in the summer. We go to West Hill dam when there’s no one awake early in the morning to swim and to the beach in August to bark at the waves. Really. Waves are suspicious and can only be splashed in once they’ve been given a stern talking-to.
8700 games of towel monster after walking through the rain, snow, sleet and mud
5700 belly rubs.
1 destroyed christmas lawn ornament (Come on. Moving light-up deer??!!! You’ve got to be F&*E# kidding me!! OF COURSE MY DOG KILLED YOUR LAWN ORNAMENT, LADY!
That’s the math that counts.
It’s not the years, the seconds. We measure our years in baths and hugs and turkey and Jazz at sunset.
And yesterday, my dog ran. Maybe it was the Aloe Vera…maybe it was the Arnica. Maybe it’s the reassurance of “You can do it!” coming over the airwaves from Maya. Maybe it’s just the sunshine and the soft pushy snow we like. Maybe it was the stick. But every day we walk a bit further. Every day the limp is better. The cancer will never go away, and one day Charlie will join all of my friends and family up in heaven, and he will wait for me by the Rainbow bridge while I journey.
But for now. While it counts. Right here, right now, Charlie feels much better.
Ahh. And right now he’s just passed gas.
Great. Super great. Okay. I’m going to open a window.
Tess,
Thank you for deciding to share this writing with everyone here on my blog! I know you and Charlie will touch many hearts, Tess.
I cried many happy tears for Charlie when I read this in your email this morning. It also reminded me of my own precious and priceless moments shared with my animal companions throughout my life. Am teary-eyed again.
Your relationship with Charlie and your writing moves me deeply, Tess. Thank you, again.
What a great way to start out the new year!
Maya
Some people spend a lifetime without ever experiencing that moment of finding their soul mate. My husband and I have been fortunate to experience it more than once. The first was when we met each other and then when our pups (1st Starbuck, then ZuZu and then Hampton) came into our lives.
Starbuck and Hampton have actually never met. But they share a special connection as Hampton was born the day after Starbuck passed. Starbuck passed last December after a courageous fight with Cancer. We were all so devastated by the loss. Starbuck holds a special place in our hearts as he was our first baby and ZuZu’s bff. ZuZu and Starbuck loved each other very much. They never fought and were always together. There wasn’t a day in 7 years that they didn’t spend together. They shared each others meals, toys and treats. If one really wanted that last chew on the bone, the other would always give it up.
Although its been a year since his passing, we still feel Starbuck is still very much with us. We still celebrate his birthday, include his name when we sign off on birthday or Christmas cards and when asked how many dogs we have we always say three.
A few years ago, my hubby and I created a website in honor of our love for our babies. We wanted to share our love for them with the world. We draw comics of our lives with them and post it on our website (www.puppyjones.com). Its easy for us to come up with material as the pups always bring so much joy and laughter in our lives. The comics are a way of sharing that with others. After Starbuck’s passing it took a while before we could get back into the grove of blogging and creating comics. Things were so different without him. But we recently updated the website and dedicated it to Starbuck. We found it actually helped us heal from the loss as it was another way for us to keep our memories of him and his spirit alive.
Hello Grace!
Thank you so much for visiting and sharing your beautiful story. Starbuck, ZuZu and Hampton and husband, of course, make the perfect family!
We really are changed forever by the people and the creatures that come into our lives and share our moments. Your life and website is one of love, commitment and enjoying life – to me you are a treasured gift and what you share is priceless.
I look forward to seeing you on Twitter!
Smiles,
Maya
Always interesting to check a unique website. Thanks for the input . Except for the content , the design of your blog looks really beautiful . Cheers.
Thank you so much for visiting….and I know. I am making lots of changes and the content is what I am now working on. Your feedback means a lot! Cheers!